BJP government in Haryana faces no-trust motion; CM Khattar confident
On Wednesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Haryana, led by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, faced a no-confidence motion, at a time when farmers' protests have taken over the state. Khattar, who became the CM in 2019 after joining hands with Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), had earlier expressed confidence that the motion would be defeated in the state Assembly.
Effective strength of Haryana Assembly stands at 88
The effective strength of the 90-seat Assembly has dropped to 88. INLD MLA Abhay Singh Chautala had resigned over the farm laws and another MLA, Pardeep Chaudhary, was unseated after being jailed in a criminal case. The magic number which the coalition needs to sail through, hence, stands at 45. BJP has 40 MLAs with it and JJP's count stands at 10.
Five MLAs supporting BJP, two are against the saffron party
As evident, the ruling coalition has enough numbers to defeat the no-trust motion. BJP also has the support of independent legislators — Ranjit Singh Chautala (Rania), Dharampal Gondar (Nilokheri), Randhir Singh Gollen (Pundri), Rakesh Daulatabad (Badshahpur, Gurugram district), and Nayan Pal Rawat (Prithla, Faridabad). However, two independents Sombir Sangwan (Charkhi-Dadri) and Balraj Kundu (Meham) are not supporting the saffron party.
Congress doesn't have enough MLAs to unseat government
BJP also enjoys the support of Gopal Kanda, an MLA of the Haryana Lokhit Party. If all MLAs of JJP, the five independents, and Kanda come together, the coalition will have 56 legislators on its side. On the other hand, Congress, which brought the motion, seems to have the support of 32 MLAs — 30 are from the party and two independents.
The no-confidence motion will be defeated: Khattar
Congress issued a three-line whip to its MLAs
Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Chief Whip Bharat Bhushan Batra issued a three-line whip asking all MLAs to be present in the Assembly. "I issue whip, that you must ensure your presence in the House on 10th March 2021 at 10:00 am positively and support the vote of no-confidence," Batra's note read. Unwilling to leave any loose ends, JJP also issued a whip.
JJP miffed farmers by supporting the recent reforms
Notably, JJP draws major support from farmers, who have been protesting since the end of November against three agricultural reforms. The laws were passed in Parliament in September 2020. Haryana's former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda claimed the coalition has lost the support of people, owing to its anti-people reforms. He also slammed Chautala for "clinging to power" at the cost of farmers.
